


Carpe Diem

by TrioMaxwell



Category: Free!
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-02-23
Updated: 2014-06-19
Packaged: 2018-01-13 12:27:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,323
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1226218
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TrioMaxwell/pseuds/TrioMaxwell
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Wow, indeed. Red hair, tanned skin, looks to die for, very built. One point nine meters tall at least. Probably specializes in front crawl from the physique and…," Rin’s eyes lingered on the sliver of tan-line peeking from where the glutes joined the leg, under the tiny speedo the mystery guy was wearing, "... used to swimming outdoors."</p><p>The one where Mikoshiba is an exchange student.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Hello, Let Go Of My Hand

“Wow, look at that exchange student. He’s so freaking tall.”

Rin looked up from his stretching at his whispering teammates, wondering why they looked so impressed. He looked over to where the said exchange student was talking with the coach and paused, blinking.

Wow, indeed.  _Red hair, tanned skin, looks to die for, very built. One point nine meters tall at least. Probably specializes in front crawl from the physique and…_ , Rin’s eyes lingered on the sliver of tan-line peeking from where the glutes joined the leg, under the tiny speedo the mystery guy was wearing,  _used to swimming outdoors._  Rin looked away before any of his teammates called him out for staring at the exchange student’s very nice ass. He wondered where the exchange student hailed from and what he had eaten as a child to grow that way.

Rin’s musings were broken by the coach’s call for all members to assemble. There was a short introduction of the mystery guy and Rin learnt that his name was Mikoshiba Seijuurou, he spoke passable Japanese and he was a second generation Japanese-American, he was studying in UC Berkley and was currently attached to Tokyo University for one semester, his major was molecular physics and he looked forward to training with everyone in the club.

 _One semester only, huh,_  Rin thought regretfully. He wouldn’t even bother trying to befriend him like this, even though they were both studying the same major. He then proceeded to ignore Mikoshiba and only paid indifferent attention to the coach as he outlined the training menu for that day. 

\---------------

Swimming was actually a lonely and boring sport, Rin reflected, always picturing himself as a predator swimming alone. After years of spending hours daily in the water, he got accustomed to, came to expect the world of muted stimuli and colour. He was already used to zoning out on land, while in the water, he actually had an excuse not to hear other people, or talk to them. There was just him, the thoughts in his head, the bubbling and rushing of water the only muffled sound in his ears, the brief gasps of breath and colour, a narrow world of unchanging blue water and tile.

Until today.

His detail was just making for the starting blocks for the 100m front crawl timed trials, when there was a small commotion between the members from the block beside him. Unexpectedly, Mikoshiba moved forward to climb onto the starting block.

Rin blinked, colours around him sharpening into bright focus. _It’s not his turn yet. What is he doing?_ For some reason, his skin prickled all over and his heart rate increased.

Then, Mikoshiba turned to him and flashed him a grin with golden eyes so full of challenge that something that had been asleep all these years awoke in Rin and **_roared_** back loudly in response. The world suddenly came alive around Rin, sights, smell, sound, feel and taste, overwhelming him with stimuli.

_Wait, wait, what is happening to me?_

“On your marks!” The time-keeper called.

Rin reflexively snapped his goggle strap and got into the “ready” position like he had always done a hundred thousand times before. _Have my fingertips always trembled with anticipation like this or is it just today? How is it that I’ve never noticed the texture of the starting block's actually sandpaper-rough beneath my feet? One, two,…_

Beep!

Rin dived with perfect timing, stretching out as far as he would go. As he entered the water, he knew without looking that there were two predators in the water today and the message screamed between them was “ _Catch me if you can!”_

Rin remembered every stroke of swimming that race, in high-definition detail. He remembered deciding to go all out for once because this was the short course pool and _Mikoshiba will have the longer stroke while I have the stronger kick_. He remembered monitoring his form to ensure that it didn’t fall apart despite the higher stroke count. Above all, he remembered the excitement of racing neck to neck, and mentally and uncharacteristically screaming, _”You want a race, huh, punk!? You got a race!”_

Rin wondered if he was suffering from multiple personality disorder.

It was something of a shock to Rin when he slapped the wall and realized the race was over and a relief that the world started to slow back down into its muted tone. His coach looked surprised as well, double-checking the stopwatch to tell Rin that he had scored a new personal best time, with Mikoshiba just a quarter-second behind him.

Rin’s pleasure at hearing this news was interrupted by the tall exchange student reaching across the pool lanes to grab his hand and babble into his face. “You’re great! You’re so fast! No wonder they said you're the ace!” He blinked and took a look closer at Rin’s face. “And you’re cute too. I like you!” This was accompanied by a megawatt smile.

Rin looked off to the side to avoid being blinded. _Boy, this kid has really white teeth._ “Uh, thanks, I guess?” He tried to discreetly free his hand from the redhead’s death grip.

“Can we race again?? Please?”

“Only if you let go of my hand!”

 

\-----------

 

 


	2. College, Cousins and Coincidences

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The one where Makoto is an exchange student too.

“I must say, I haven’t seen you put that much spirit into your swimming for a while,” Coach Iwazaki said as he leaned casually against the wall. Rin froze, in the process of wiping his face dry with his towel. "That's a very good breakthrough,” Iwazaki continued. “You know I'm still wanting to nominate you for the National Team? I've said it before, right?" Rin exhaled mightily but his coach ignored him and went through the familiar argument. " _Go_ for the trials, _train_ with the National Team, _up_ your chances for placing at the World University Games and you should secure a place to represent in FINA next year."

Rin glared at his coach as respectfully as he could. "And I've said it before, Coach. I'm not interested. I can't cope with training for two international tournaments _and_ lessons. I wouldn’t be able to focus on either well at all." He looked down at the tiled floor of the natatorium and muttered, "I'm not good enough, anyway."

“What if I told you that Mikoshiba-san was on the U.S. National Junior Team?"

"Him?" Rin snapped his head up as his heart jumped. He glared at his coach again (who looked too pleased at the spark of interest he had shown), this time with lot more irritation. _He's doing this on purpose, damn him._  He glanced at Mikoshiba, talking and laughing with some of the members. He thought for a moment, comparing Olympic times. "That's a pretty shitty time for a U.S. National Team swimmer, isn't it?"

"Junior Team, I said. Under eighteen. And you're too harsh. That time would qualify the both of you for the Nationals."

"But that's not good enough for FINA, is it?" _Much less the Olympics..._  

Coach Iwazaki smacked Rin on the shoulder, startling him. "You've got _potential_ , Matsuoka. Your training here is practically _recreational_ and you could be so much better if you just trained more rigorously. You really lack _motivation_." He frowned at Rin. "It's like you train just enough to be the best here, but you don't aim to exceed it. Why? It's not as if you hate swimming..."

Mikoshiba suddenly sneezed, interrupting Rin's obstinate glower. They both watched him excuse himself apologetically from those he was talking to and go to his bag. He pulled a large towel out and draped it over his shoulders.

"Oh, and it appears Mikoshiba-san is suffering from a cold. It's colder here than he's used to in California," Iwazaki observed drily.

 _That and the Speedo,_   Rin thought snarkily. He looked down at his leggings, the ones made with the state of the art thermal/compression water repelling material. He wondered how much of an advantage he had gained with his swim wear, and with Mikoshiba-san's supposedly less than optimal health.

"Matsuoka! You're up soon!" Yoshida, his teammate called.

Rin blinked. Shit, he wasn't paying attention. He nodded to his coach as he got up and went to take his place. From the corner of his eye, he saw Mikoshiba pull off his towel and move to join the detail. To Rin's chagrin, his teammates stepped aside to let Mikoshiba join in like it was the most natural thing in the world. _Ugh._   He glanced at Mikoshiba and was greeted by that megawatt, excited smile. _Ugh~~~._  

 _He obviously expected another all out race. Why did people expect things of him? It was unfair. The surest way to make the exchange student and Coach lose interest was to swim a mediocre lap. He could do that._  

"You're Matsuoka Rin, right?" Mikoshiba's voice broke in on his thoughts. Rin looked up to see the exchange student holding out a hand to him. Rin held out his own hand on reflex and had his hand held in a surprisingly strong grip. "Mikoshiba Seijuurou. Let's have a good one."  


Rin found himself gripping the hand tightly back, accepting and returning the challenge. "Same," he replied.

(And it was like a switch was flipped on and he _didn't_ want to lose.)

Turning away to focus on the swim ahead, Rin found himself taking deeper breaths and shrugging his shoulders to loosen them in preparation for the next lap. He also felt the stirring of that _something_ inside him, _something that thrashed its tail and gnashed it's teeth in excitement_   and bit his lip to stop himself from grinning. _U.S. National Team swimmer, eh? Let's see what you've got._  (It had been a long time since he saw any other colour in the water but blue.)

As usual, he still had the more powerful kick and dive, but Mikoshiba was faster this time, slicing through the water like a _goddamned_ knife. Rin saw him pulling ahead in his peripheral vision and swam harder, putting his all into the lap. Even if he lost, he wouldn't let the difference between them be very large!

By the time Rin touched the wall, Mikoshiba had already pulled off his cap and goggles, whooping triumphantly. Rin pulled himself out of the water immediately, and went to check the times. He was faster, he had beat his previous time. But his eyes widened when he saw Mikoshiba's time... So fast! Was this the standard for college swimming in the States? And Coach Iwazaki actually thought he had a chance at the World University Games?! Fuck that! He looked up at his coach, his heart still drumming in his ears. But even more than placing at the Games...

 _I want to beat this time._  He turned to Mikoshiba. "One more time," he bit out.

Mikoshiba grinned delightedly. “Sure. Now?”

\------

Rin blitzed through the showers, washing up quickly with the ease of practice and successfully avoided the exchange student in the locker room rush. He hadn't _lost_ so often before and he wanted to put some distance between the exchange student and think of how to modify his training to beat him.

(He was also skipping extra training for once. Although racing Mikoshiba was exciting in a way he had forgotten, when one started to hallucinate about sailfish and sharks chasing each other through the techni-coloured water, it was time to stop, because seriously, what the hell. This was too much stimulus for one day.)

He felt his cell phone vibrate with a text message.

 _(I'm waiting outside.)_  

 _Right on time._   Rin read the message and sent back, _(Out in two.)_ He then pocketed his handphone and hurried from the Sports Center. He exited the building into the darkening campus, the electric lights only now just brightening to illuminate the pathways. He shivered into his jacket. He should have taken the time to dry off more thoroughly, but... whatever. 

He spotted the person he was looking for, a slim figure with dark hair seated at one of the many benches along the paths. He wasn’t alone, however; there was someone seated next to him and they were talking. _Huh._ He jogged over to his roommate and both of them looked up at his approach. The stranger stood up to meet him. Rin studied him curiously. The olive-haired stranger was slightly taller than him and while it was hard to tell the build with the jacket, Rin noted that his shoulders were almost as broad as Mikoshiba’s. _And he was pretty good looking too._

“Yo, Haru,” Rin greeted his roommate. Nanase Haruka looked up at him, tightly bundled in two jackets and a scarf, long legs emphasized by black skinny jeans, ice skates and book bag lying off to one side. Rin jerked his head surreptitiously at the stranger, hinting that an introduction was in order. 

“Rin. This is Makoto. He’ll be joining us for dinner.” Haru said without preamble. 

Rin nodded, waiting for more, but Haru was apparently done. 

Rin raised an impatient eyebrow. 

Makoto hurried to continue with the introduction, in accented but otherwise perfect Japanese. “Good evening, Rin-san. It’s nice to meet you. I’m Makoto Tachibana. Haruka has told me a lot about you.” Rin snorted quietly in disbelief. “I’m here on exchange and studying Architecture.” Rin blinked. _Hoh. Another exchange student._ Makoto continued, “Haruka and I have a lot of common modules and he was kind enough to introduce me to the ice-skating club. Sorry to intrude on your dinner, though.” He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. 

“It’s fine.” Rin shrugged. “Let’s go, we can continue talking over dinner.” 

“Ah, could you wait a minute longer?” Makoto glanced at the cell phone in his hand. “My cousin will be here soon.” 

“Your cousin?” Rin stared at him, a sudden sinking feeling in his gut. _It couldn't be..._

"Ah, there he is!" Makoto said cheerfully, waving to someone behind him. "Seijuurou! Over here!" 

End Part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, Chapter Two.
> 
> I'd four versions written for this. I wrote this version during the Sochi Winter Olympics in February 2014, inspired by the Haru and Makoto ice-skating fanart that was floating around Tumblr at the time. This storyline is the only version of the fic where Haru and Makoto appear. =\
> 
> These are the official competition dates.  
> 1) 2015 World University Games (3-14 July)  
> 2) 2015 FINA World Championships (24th July- 9aug) 
> 
> University of Tokyo has exams for Summer semester in September, but Rin would miss *a lot* of lessons.
> 
> So, even if the University made provision for Rin's lessons, imagine, training 5 times a week with the National Squad (for swimming, it's probably more, maybe 8 sessions), tutorials, assignments, lectures, selections and Games then FINA, then catching up with assignments and then exams.  
> (PS: Michael Phelps sacrificed college eligibility to go pro, but he qualified for the Olympics at 15 years of age and had a lot of sponsors and endorsements under his belt.)

**Author's Note:**

> I do think Rin will be taller than 1.77m at the age of 19yrs (1.85m head canon, haha!) and Mikoshiba will also be taller, 1.95m, just because. =)


End file.
